Botanical classification/cultivar designation: Alstroemeria hybrida cultivar Zalsasenan.
The present Invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Alstroemeria plant, botanically known as Alstroemeria hybrida, commercially used as a cut flower Alstroemeria, and hereinafter referred to by the name xe2x80x98Zalsasenanxe2x80x99.
The new Alstroemeria is a product of a planned breeding program conducted by the Inventor in Rijnsburg, The Netherlands. The objective of the breeding program was to develop new cut flower Alstroemeria cultivars with desirable flower and plant qualities, attractive flower colors and excellent postproduction longevity.
The new Alstroemeria originated from a cross-pollination made by the Inventor in June, 1997 in Rijnsburg, The Netherlands, of a proprietary Alstroemeria hybrida selection identified as 96411-004, not patented, as the female, or seed, parent with a proprietary Alstroemeria hybrida selection identified as 97915-004PN, not patented, as the male, or pollen, parent. The new Alstroemeria was discovered and selected by the Inventor as a flowering plant within the progeny of the stated cross-pollination in a controlled environment in Rijnsburg, The Netherlands in 1998.
Asexual reproduction of the new cultivar by root divisions in a controlled environment in Rijnsburg, The Netherlands, since September, 1998, has shown that the unique features of this new Alstroemeria are stable and reproduced true to type in successive generations of asexual propagation.
Plants of the cultivar Zalsasenan have not been observed under all possible environmental conditions. The phenotype may vary somewhat with variations in environment such as temperature and light intensity without, however, any variance in genotype.
The following traits have been repeatedly observed and are determined to be the unique characteristics of xe2x80x98Zalsasenanxe2x80x99. These characteristics in combination distinguish xe2x80x98Zalsasenanxe2x80x99 as a new and distinct cultivar:
1. Erect and strong flowering stems.
2. Vigorous growth habit.
3. Intense yellow-colored flowers.
4. Good postproduction longevity.
Plants of the new Alstroemeria can be compared to plants of the parent selections. In side-by-side comparisons conducted in Rijnsburg, The Netherlands, plants of the new Alstroemeria differed from plants of the parent selections primarily in flower color as plants of the parent selections had less intense yellow-colored flowers.
Plants of the new Alstroemeria can be compared to plants of the cultivar Zalsamano, disclosed in a U.S. Plant Patent application filed concurrently. In side-by-side comparisons conducted in Rijnsburg, The Netherlands, plants of the new Alstroemeria differed from plants of the cultivar Zalsamano in the following characteristics:
1. Plants of the new Alstroemeria had broader inflorescences but smaller flowers than plants of the cultivar Zalsamano.
2. Plants of the new Alstroemeria and the cultivar Zalsamano differed in flower color.
3. Plants of the new Alstroemeria had longer peduncles and pedicels than plants of the cultivar Zalsamano.
Plants of the new Alstroemeria can also be compared to plants of the cultivar Stajello, not patented. In side-by-side comparisons conducted in Rijsenhout, The Netherlands, plants of the new Alstroemeria differed from plants of the cultivar Stajello in the following characteristics:
1. Plants of the new Alstroemeria had longer flowering stems than plants of the cultivar Stajello.
2. Plants of the new Alstroemeria produced fewer flowering stems per year than plants of the cultivar Stajello.